The Power to Believe [PA]

Performer: King Crimson
Engineer: Jeff Juliano; Machine
Producer: King Crimson; Machine
Distributor: Ryko Distribution

Notes: King Crimson: Adrian Belew (vocals, guitar); Trey Gunn (guitar, fretless bass); Robert Fripp (guitar); Pat Mastelotto (drums, programming). Additional personnel: Tim Faulkner (spoken vocals); Machine (programming). King Crimson: Adrian Belew (vocals, guitar); Trey Gunn (guitar, fretless guitar); Robert Fripp (guitar); Pat Mastelotto (drums). Personnel: Machine (programming). Audio Mixer: Machine. The Power to Believe (2003) marks the return of King Crimson for the group's first full-length studio release since ConstruKction of Light (2000). While it draws upon material featured on the live Level Five (2001) and studio Happy with What You Have to Be Happy With (2002) extended-play discs, there are also several new sonic sculptures included. Among them is the title track, which is divided into a series of central thematic motifs much in the same manner as the "Larks' Tongues in Aspic" movements had done in the past. This 21st century schizoid band ably bears the torch of its predecessors with the same ballsy aggression that has informed other seminal King Crimson works -- such as In the Court of the Crimson King (1969), Red (1974), and more recently THRAK (1995). This incarnation of the Mighty Krim includes the excessively talented quartet of Adrian Belew (guitar/vocals), Robert Fripp (guitar), Trey Gunn (Warr guitar/Warr fretless guitar), and Pat Mastelotto (percussion). Under the auspices of Machine -- whose notable productions include post-grunge and industrial medalists Pitchshifter and White Zombie -- the combo unleashes a torrent of alternating sonic belligerence ("Level Five") and inescapable beauty ("Eyes Wide Open"). These extremes are linked as well as juxtaposed by equally challenging soundscapes from Fripp on "The Facts of Life: Intro" as well as Belew's series of "The Power to Believe" haikus. The disc is fleshed out with some choice extended instrumentals such as "Elektrik" and "Dangerous Curves," boasting tricky time signatures that are indelibly linked to equally engaging melodies. Both "Happy With What You Have to Be Happy With" and "Facts of Life" stand out as the (dare say) perfect coalescence of Belew's uncanny Beatlesque lyrical sense with the sort of bare-knuckled, in your face aural attack that has defined King Crimson for over three decades. If the bandmembers' constant tone probing is an active search to find the unwitting consciousness of a decidedly younger, rowdier, and more demanding audience, their collective mission is most assuredly accomplished on The Power to Believe -- even more so than the tripped-out psychedelic prog rock behemoth from whence they initially emerged. ~ Lindsay Planer King Crimson guitarist/founder Robert Fripp's famous quote that "King Crimson is a way of doing things" has seldom seemed truer than on THE POWER TO BELIEVE. The group's second studio album as a quartet in the wake of old hands Tony Levin and Bill Bruford's departure fits fully into the ever-shifting but consistently regenerative Crimson continuum. "Level Five" and the multi-part title track are pounding, counterpoint-filled tunes that hark back to Crimson's oft-revisited touchstone "Larks Tongues in Aspic." Along the way, Fripp, Adrian Belew and company also manage to venture more fully than ever into the Balinese Gamelan sound they first began exploring on 1981's DISCIPLINE, and drummer Pat Mastelloto throws in some electronic flavors that nod to drum-and-bass and garage beats. The dark, intense angularity that is a Crimson trademark is offset by a couple of ethereal, ambient electronic soundscapes, but there's plenty of hard-prog thrashing for those who were turned on to the band by their tour with heavy rockers Tool. And naturally, there's plenty of intricate musical invention for the longtime fans who expect nothing less.

Rolling Stone (3/20/03, p.65) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...It is the sound of apocalypse now....In the face of war, King Crimson make hopeful thunder..." Mojo (Publisher) (2/03, p.89) - "...Consistent....Hopefully, a revelation for a few young metal heads..." Record Collector (magazine) (p.92) - 5 stars out of 5 -- "THE POWER TO BELIEVE remains Crimson's most recent masterpiece and a must have for anyone who things that Radiohead work at the cliff edge of experimental rock."

Led by innovative guitarist/conceptualist Robert Fripp, King Crimson went through countless changes in style and personnel. They moved from early symphonic/progressive rock to angular, experimental improv to a mixture of hard rock and fusion before breaking up in the mid-'70s. Revived in the '80s, the group modernized its approach by incorporating Gamelan-like polyrhythms and an almost danceable Talking Heads-influenced sound into their approach. Always the coolest of the art-rockers, Crimson was also one of the most influential of the early-'70s prog crowd.

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